So you want to be an Android developer...

If you are someone who wants to become an Android application developer, and certainly if you already are, you may have noticed that there are thousands of applications in the Google Play store. Some are flooded with reviews and have been downloaded thousands of times, others never receive attention and have few or no downloads.

In this article, I will cover some of my experiences as an mobile application development services: I have been programming for several years. I started learning three programming languages; C, C ++ and Java. Then I went on to do web development, before moving on to Android development.

The first applications that I built were very basic and mainly for fun. A few years ago, I participated in a RHOK event (Random Hacks of Kindness) and in a team of five we developed the award-winning Buddy application. I also developed another application almost at the same time, Seam, who listened to Kiswahili's phrases and translated them.

With luck, you can learn from my experiences. Let us begin!

FIRST, UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

Google is the company behind the Android operating system and they have a full set of standards that you must meet if you want to launch Android apps in the Play Store.

My first applications were messy. Sometimes I installed them and their icons appeared on top of other icons, or they were disordered somewhere by themselves, all because I did not follow the user interface navigation guidelines.

These guidelines allow users to quickly understand how their application works, make applications consistent with each other and ensure that users are more likely to reuse their application. So apply them.

UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF ITS USERS

Often, developers sit in front of a screen, develop and implement applications that meet their limited needs. However, the most successful applications are created with the user in mind.

In our Buddy app, our users were owners of Android phones that often had more than one device. Managing their contacts was a problem, especially when they wanted to transfer contacts or access their phone remotely. Our goal was to meet your needs.

Once the application is up and running, collect and address the issues raised. If users feel that they are handling their problems well, they will continue to use their application.

Often, developers have strong coding skills, but they publish poorly designed interfaces. Remember, the user is not interested in the lines of code he has written, but instead experiences the front-end. If you are not a good interface designer, then collaborate with someone who is. If you cannot find anyone to partner with, learn the basics of design and download some free UI kits.

USE ANDROID AND STAY UNTIL DATE

It's strange to think about it, but many Android developers are not Android users. Android applications are often ported simply from iOS apps, so do not take advantage of Android's enhanced capabilities.

When you immerse yourself in Android, you will experience more than just listening to the users of your application. Participate in Android communities to connect with like-minded people. Forums like Google+ have been my learning base. Many of them are vibrant and inspiring.

As you know, Android is a product of Google. From time to time Google likes to release updates for its operating system. For example, with the release of Android 7.0 Nougat, it is now possible to develop applications that can perform multiple tasks.

Multitasking allows applications to split the device's screen and run several applications simultaneously. It's tremendously useful, and it was first announced at a Google event. By keeping up with these events, you will discover new techniques that will improve your applications. My favorite is Google I / O, which is a conference that I have never missed. It helps me keep my applications updated and be one of the first to implement new standards.

ALWAYS DEVELOP FOR MULTIPLE DEVICES

My first Android device had a 3 "screen, and the applications I developed looked great ... until I tried them on a larger screen; then they looked horrible.

Android gives users the freedom to choose to run on a variety of devices, with countless different view sizes. As a developer, you must ensure that your application is well designed on as many devices as possible, if not all.

However, it is impossible to perform physical tests on all Android devices, and even the richest development companies can only maintain a limited device library. To overcome this, I use independent density pixels in my designs.

Make sure your application is fast on all devices. I will absolutely discard any application that works slowly, and I'm not alone. I also avoid any application that costs me space, so be sure to optimize your application. You can improve the speed of your application by refraining from using unnecessary objects and variables; the more objects you use, the more hiccups will occur during garbage collection, which slows down the experience even on powerful devices.

TRY YOUR APPLICATION. THEN TRY AGAIN. AND AGAIN.

As a professional developer, I would never dream of launching an application without testing it, but it's tempting to skip steps.

My friends wanted to see the Seam application on their phones shortly after presenting it to the group. The application had run smoothly in my Android simulator, but I had not yet installed it on a real device. When I let my friends install it, the application could not be started on some devices. There was a mistake! Having experienced that shame for myself, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to thoroughly test your applications.

Once you have written the code, you will already know how it works, so you know what to expect. Therefore, I always recommend that users with a variety of experience levels test their application, they will encounter problems that they did not expect. Get other developers to test the performance of your application.